Polk Lore

This is the fourth in a series of interviews with candidates for the Polk Schools Board of Education. If you haven’t already listened to the first interview, with Mike Ashworth, I’d recommend you run through at least the first few minutes, as I supply an overview of the elections, which seats are up for grabs, and an explanation of why I am interviewing some candidates and not others. In this epis...

This is the third in a series of interviews with candidates for the Polk Schools Board of Education. If you haven’t already listened to the first interview, with Mike Ashworth, I’d recommend you run through at least the first few minutes, as I supply an overview of the elections, which seats are up for grabs, and and explanation of why I am interviewing some candidates and not others. Of course, I...

This is the second in a series of interviews with candidates for the Polk Schools Board of Education. If you haven’t already listened to the first interview, with Mike Ashworth, I’d recommend you run through at least the first few minutes, as I supply an overview of the elections, which seats are up for grabs, and why I chose to interview who I did. Of course, I hope you listen to the entire inter...

This is the first a series of interviews with candidates who want to serve  — or continue to serve — the county as members of the Polk Schools Board of Education. It’s been a long time since so many people have been willing to do what is essentially a thankless job. In the past, acclamation has been the rule, or, if a seat opens does open up, the departing member finds a replacement, who is e...

One of the other hats I wear is that of chair of the Saluda Planning Board. It’s just an appointed position that pays nothing and requires you to stay awake and engaged for hours at a time discussing municipal zoning, housing density, sign ordinances, and a whole bunch of other topics that most people wouldn’t touch with a proverbial 10-foot pole. Betsy Burdette is not one of those people. As the...

The Green River Tavern. Green River Frame Shop and Gallery .Green River Cove Tubing. The Green River Brew Depot. Green River Barbeque. Green River Adventures. Green River Well and Pump. Everyone one of those businesses is trading on the good name of the Green River. Some literally depend on its waters to pay their bills. Take the river out of the county, and there’d be a big hole to fill, not just...

If you haven’t had COVID by now, you almost certainly know at least a couple of people who have suffered through it. You may even have a lost a close family member or a friend, although that seems to be relatively rare – for the moment. Aside from the threat that this new coronavirus poses to our health, it’s also taken a big toll on the economy. It’s upended careers, shortening some and derailed...

Last month, a few hours after the Supreme Court of the United States reversed its  1973 ruling that had granted American women the right to terminate a pregnancy, about 70 Polk County residents gathered on the lawn of the county courthouse. Which is a pretty impressive turnout for 4 p.m. on a workday with no advertising or advance notice. They were there to object to the decision and to share...

So far in this series on education in Polk County, we’ve heard from a teacher and student. But right from the start it was clear that this series wasn’t going to be complete without a talk with Aaron Greene, the superintendent of Polk Schools. Before taking over the top job six years ago, he was assistant superintendent, and before that principal at Polk High. It’s probably safe to say if anyone h...

For the second part of our series on education, let’s turn to the student’s point of view. I’ve known Myles Freeman for about a decade, since he was a student at Saluda Elementary, and one of my son’s friends. I’d like to able to claim that I long ago recognized he would rise above the pack. You know — the way some teachers say they can identify right from kindergarten who will succeed and who wil...

Polk County is a diverse community. Not nearly as ethnically diverse as a major metropolitan center like New York or Chicago, but when it comes to opinions, it’s not hard to find representative samples from across the political spectrum. Nowhere is this more in evidence than at a Polk County school board meeting. So it seemed like a good idea to kick off this podcast by exploring the state of our...